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Aerobic exercise is good for the brain; easy wins for behaviour change

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Re: Aerobic exercise is good for the brain; easy wins for behaviour change

#111

Post by [deleted] »

phatskat wrote: post #72
agbrrw wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am the same kind of person, and believe me, it's a lost battle to try to explain how impossible it is to get to do something every day. People who are normal in that sense will never understand. Their concept of laziness or of that "ah, it's going to be hard to get on that treadmill today" feeling is completely different from ours. Their brains are wired differently. Just read the answer below > The only thing ever…

Yep I replied to that one too lol. My roommate and I listened to a podcast episode the other day about the challenges of executive dysfunction and ADHD and it was validating to say the least. The podcast is called Struggle Care with KC Davis

[deleted]

Re: Aerobic exercise is good for the brain; easy wins for behaviour change

#112

Post by tsimionescu »

AimForTheBushes wrote: post #81
tsimionescu wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This may work for some people, but not others. For me, nothing is as unpleasant as running. Back when I tried to forcd myself to do it as part of my gym routine, I was actively dreading it the moment I woke up, after a week or two. It took all my willpower every time to run another minute, another 100m, etc. No other exercise I tried is as unpleasant and demotivating to me.

This is usually the side effect of people running too fast. Slow it down- even if you feel like speed walkers can pass you. Or you actually hate running.

Tried slow running, tried sprint+walk cycles, tried various combinations. Tried both treadmills and running outside. The sensation of being out of breath is just very unpleasant to me, and you always end up out of breath if doing any kind of running for more than a few minutes.

Sprinting was the least unpleasant actually, but only for a short while for the first time and only once/day.

Thankfully strength training is much more enjoyable, as is walking, so I'm relying on this combination. Plus some swimming occasionally.

Re: Aerobic exercise is good for the brain; easy wins for behaviour change

#113

Post by phatskat »

beepbooptheory wrote: post #103
phatskat wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I know what you mean I’m not sure that you do, because > The only thing ever stopping you from going out the door and running is putting on shoes and shorts, its easy to form a habit! feels very invalidating, as someone who struggles with an executive dysfunction disorder.

Oh geez I am so sorry. Truly. I guess I had a false notion that "executive dysfunction" was a softer term/catch-all for various problems around procrastination/focus, not something that is diagnosed explicitly such that you could feel this invalidation. Really sorry. I will edit accordingly.

It’s something that comes along with things like ADHD (that’s where I experience it). It just makes tackling sometimes simple seeming things feel insurmountable. It’s not a constant, and it effects everyone who experiences it differently. For me, self-care in some regards feels like an uphill battle (particularly maintaining dental hygiene and exercise - yaaaaay!). There are things I can do to make those things more accessible and “doable”, yet forming a routine and sticking to it is haaaaaaaard.

And I appreciate your response - the invalidating part was just that it’s “easy” to start a running routine with just shoes and shorts. It probably is for most people, and for me the shoes would sit there as a reminder of an investment in myself that I can not seem bring myself to take advantage of more than once or twice a year.

Re: Aerobic exercise is good for the brain; easy wins for behaviour change

#114

Post by sn9 »

dymk wrote: post #94
1123581321 wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about a walk around the block once a month? I struggle with executive dysfunction; when people describe a more aggressive routine than I could manage, I just mentally translate the numbers and level of consistency into what's achievable rather than berate them. Their point was: start with what's possible for you and go from there, because you don't need to achieve a certain threshold of activity or knowledge for…

Executive dysfunction is different for everybody. I'm sure GP's comment is well intended, but advice in the form of "Just go DO the thing even if it's small" is about as helpful as telling a depressed person "Have you tried smiling?".

I mean it can be as simple as playing Pokemon Go.

Anything that gets your activity up will help. Lots of low intensity stuff is probably even more valuable than 20 minutes of moderate effort.

Re: Aerobic exercise is good for the brain; easy wins for behaviour change

#115

Post by sn9 »

m3nu wrote: post #40

Been looking into this recently and one really needs 3 types of exercise: - strength/resistance training: to build and keep muscles; one benefit of which is better stability at age and metabolic regulation. - high intensity cardio/HIIT/zone 5/95+% max heart rate: to build VO2max, was also shown to reduce arterial plaque. - normal cardio/zone 2/50-80% max HR: mitochondrial efficiency, fat burning?, endurance, memory (…

Strength training done right with full range of motion can be considered both stability and stretching/mobility work.

Like squatting with hundreds of pounds on your back is inherently unstable and forces you to have good balance, and moving your body under load is literally weighted stretching, which is one of the most effective ways of increasing your range of motion if your current range is insufficient for your needs.

Re: Aerobic exercise is good for the brain; easy wins for behaviour change

#116

Post by sn9 »

pc86 wrote: post #29
kortex wrote: post #19

> Maximal effects were found for tasks related to executive functions, (i.e., aspects of higher cognition principally associated with the functions of prefrontal cortex). Oh good, exactly what I'm looking for. If only the executive dysfunction didn't mess with my ability to form any kind of stable exercise routine.

I don't say this to sound dismissive, which I think is all too common in discussions like this. If we're talking about aerobic exercise, you don't need to "form" anything. It's a monostructural movement. Buy a treadmill and jog on it for 20 minutes when you wake up. Buy a rower and do 5k every morning, or evening, or over lunch. Get a stationary bike and do 10 minutes on that whenever you remember to do it. This isn'…

> The most important part (in what the kids today would call "my lived experience") is to push yourself hard, sweat a lot, and do it at least 3 or 4 times a week.

I wouldn't even say you need to push yourself hard. Getting yourself into 120-150 bpm for 30-60 minutes 3x per week will get you most of the benefits.

Re: Aerobic exercise is good for the brain; easy wins for behaviour change

#117

Post by ddmf »

kortex wrote: post #19

> Maximal effects were found for tasks related to executive functions, (i.e., aspects of higher cognition principally associated with the functions of prefrontal cortex). Oh good, exactly what I'm looking for. If only the executive dysfunction didn't mess with my ability to form any kind of stable exercise routine.

adhd sucks - i bought one of these pedal boxes so I could exercise while watching tv (i know, better than nothing though) and it was great until I moved it out of the way, now I can't see it I don't do it, and I remember when I'm not in front of it, think "oh i'll put it back" and then instantly forget.

Re: Aerobic exercise is good for the brain; easy wins for behaviour change

#118

Post by [deleted] »

phatskat wrote: post #43
pc86 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe. I'm more describing making this important enough to you that you start looking for places to slot it into your day. Yes, a routine will likely form out of that but I think it's secondary to getting you to want to do the thing, which is harder (at least for me).

> I'm more describing making this important enough to you that you start looking for places to slot it into your day I get where you’re coming from, and I think you’re missing the point. Executive dysfunction (for me at least) means I can “want to do the thing” a LOT, heck I can even have the motivation, but getting my brain and body to actually do the damn thing can feel insurmountable. There are certainly ways to w…

[deleted]

Re: Aerobic exercise is good for the brain; easy wins for behaviour change

#119

Post by Doxin »

p_j_w wrote: post #102
kortex wrote: post #19

> Maximal effects were found for tasks related to executive functions, (i.e., aspects of higher cognition principally associated with the functions of prefrontal cortex). Oh good, exactly what I'm looking for. If only the executive dysfunction didn't mess with my ability to form any kind of stable exercise routine.

Have you tried approaching it with the idea that you don’t have to form a stable routine? The next time you’re sitting around with >20 minutes to kill, go for a run instead of doing social media/HN/Netflix/whatever it is you might do to kill time. If you found you woke up an hour early and can’t get back to sleep, go for a run. Maybe it’ll eventually lead to a routine, but maybe it won’t and that’s fine, too, you’re…

This is how I managed to get weight lifting into my daily life. Worked for nearly a year. After which ?something? happened and now I've not done it in years.

ADHD is a fickle mistress.

Re: Aerobic exercise is good for the brain; easy wins for behaviour change

#120

Post by kortex »

bittercynic wrote: post #110
pc86 wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't say this to sound dismissive, which I think is all too common in discussions like this. If we're talking about aerobic exercise, you don't need to "form" anything. It's a monostructural movement. Buy a treadmill and jog on it for 20 minutes when you wake up. Buy a rower and do 5k every morning, or evening, or over lunch. Get a stationary bike and do 10 minutes on that whenever you remember to do it. This isn'…

I tried a rower for the first time a couple days ago, and found immediate relief from ADHD-like symptoms that lasts a few hours. I'm not diagnosed, but have pretty severe trouble getting into a task-oriented mode, so much that dishes go unwashed, and my home is a mess. I feel the mess wearing away at me, but just can't deal with it. I'm not overly busy or tired, just procrastinating. After 5 minutes on the rower my m…

Exercise definitely helps my symptoms, but it's an absolute roll of the dice whether it's immediate and significant, or just tires me out. Really I need to keep up with a few times a week for at least a month to reap the benefits.
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